posted August 03, 2003 12:55 PM         

Let us begn our journey through the Tarot with the card that represents each one of us: The Fool.

0 – The Fool Astrological Correspondences: The Element Air & The Planet Uranus

The Fool is an interesting card in many ways, chief of which is the debate that rages over it’s actual position in the Higher Arcana. Usually numbered 0, The Fool has been placed variously at the beginning of the sequence, the end of the series and also between Judgment and the World, depending upon which authorities one consults. Each placement is correct when viewed through the filters of the assorted authors, but for our purposes let’s place it at the beginning and end of the sequence of Higher Arcana cards. How is this possible? It is my contention that the Higher Arcana of the Tarot is very well represented as a circular arrangement, and in this manner The Fool is both the beginning and the end. After all, doesn’t each ending hold within it the possibility of a new beginning? Further, doesn’t every beginning hold the promise of eventual attainment and completion?

In this card, we are presented with the image of a youth with his eyes turned toward the heavens as he comes precariously close to meandering off the edge of a precipice. He is accompanied on his journey by a white puppy that playfully nips at his coat sleeve. Garbed in a white tunic, overlaid with a black coat lined in vibrant red, his hose are citrine in color and he wears a green wreath jauntily accented by a red feather about his blonde hair. In his left hand he clutches a walking stick and a single white rose, while in the other hand he carries his belongings in a sack tied to a wand. In the background we see snow-capped mountains, and in the upper right hand corner, the sun illuminates the travelers path.

Everything about this image is a symbol that speaks directly to our subconscious mind. The white tunic is a symbol of the spirit, pure wisdom untainted by material cares. Yet the Fool must learn to function in the material realm, thus the black coat which represents our sense of separation from God. It is a robe of ignorance or forgetfulness that we place upon ourselves when we feel exiled from the love and companionship of God. The white dog symbolizes the intellect or that aspect of the mind that functions on a purely personal level. Some view the intellect as a sort of enemy to spiritual attainment; isn’t science always trying to explain away or demystify the miraculous? Here the dog is playful, implying that the intellect can be a companion along the way rather than an aspect of ourselves that impedes our spiritual growth. The red feather in his hair and the red lining of his coat speak of desires and passions that must be wisely channeled in order to become a co-creator with God on the material plane. The green wreath symbolizes victory and rulership, implying that we have what it takes to succeed in life. After all, isn’t life really a game?

Astrologically, The Fool is Uranus, the mover and shaker of the heavens, who breaks down old and outdated attitudes to pave the way for that which is fresh and new. The keynote here is originality, and the ability to perceive the potential lying dormant in structures, people and situations. The Fool prompts us to take a new look from a different angle and forge ahead with the faith of a small child.

Numerologically zero is the symbol of freedom from limitation, that which is unknown and immeasurable. Zero is the emblem of power, when we add zero to any number we increase its power. Wouldn’t we all like to add the power of more zeroes to our bank balance? The zero may also be thought of as the void from which creation is manifested. It is everything in potential, but the 0 itself is actually No-Thing. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” This number represents the darkness before the dawn, when the promise of the day is hidden until the Sun calls forth light and life.

In a reading The Fool represents the beginning of a new venture. We can embark upon this journey with the faith of a child, assured of our ultimate success, or we can choose to expend our energies by bombarding our minds with endless “what ifs”. The Fool rushes in where angels fear to tread, and emerges the victor, though the rest of the world stands by, shaking their heads in wonder at the exuberance of his youthful energy. How many times have we just dug in and done something before “older and wiser” souls have told us that we couldn’t?

The Fool appears in spreads to remind us that we should lighten up, take a new and fresh approach and learn to relax. He constantly asks the question, “how serious is this?” gently prodding us to examine our circumstances and attitudes.

When The Fool is reversed in a reading, we are reminded to look before we leap. Here the courage and fresh approach of The Fool are merely foolish flights of fancy, not grounded in reality. Things are up in the air, and decisions made will require rethinking in the near future. This is not the time to sign important documents or make major purchases. Perhaps we are encountering the consequences of our ill thought words or deeds. If this is the case, The Fool reversed suggests that we take a deep breath, dig in our heels and do whatever it takes to clean up our mess. Perhaps we have forgotten that we are never alone, and that now is the time to seek support from above.

The Fool is a picture of each and every one of us, symbolizing our individual souls leaving the ALL that is God to experience the material realm, and the illusion of separation. The Fool has no fear of his impending fall; his innocent spirit knows that he is always safe, always protected. The Fool of God has an eternally optimistic faith in the right-ness of things; he is at the beginning of his journey and as yet is unjaded by the cares and woes of the world.

posted August 08, 2003 11:02 AM         

All these posts put a spark into me to think more deeply. As I read the tarot too. When I get home tonight I am going to take out this card and meditate. Then post what I come up with too.

posted August 08, 2003 03:26 PM         

What a marvelous beginning we are making!

Now I would like to encourage you to actually look at card 0, The Fool. Depending on which deck you are using, your card should look more or less as I have described above.

When you look at the card, how do you feel? What do you see? Do you happen to "hear" anything with your inner ear?

To a Qabalist, for example, the colors that the fool is wearing: citrine, olive, russet and black (shades of green and red) might suggest the colors of the Sephiroth known as Malkuth, the Kingdom. To such a one, it might infer that The Fool (each one of us) as an individual Soul leaves the unity that is God and takes an adventure in the Material realm... signified on the Tree of Life by Malkuth, the material world. The Kingdom or playground given us by the Creator in which to experience PHYSICALLY what we cannot experience in our true or Soul form.

What about this picture catches your eye? What are you drawn to, and where does that lead you mentally?

What do you see when you look at the staff the Fool carries over his shoulder? It has a bag of his posessions tied at one end. Does this look like something anatomical perhaps? Or do you get an image of a young runaway, leaving behind the home and hearth in search of new adventures? What might either of these observations reveal about The Fool?

Do you see a naive person with the faith of a child? Or perhaps a Fool, not paying attention to where he is going, that is about to blunder along and fall into the abyss at his feet? What does this imply to you?

Does the youth pictured in the card remind you of someone that you might know? What about this person is called to mind?

Meditate... reflect... ask yourself what lesson can I learn from The Fool. Try to imagine yourself as the youth in the card. What are you thinking, feeling?

In this way the Tarot can begin to take on a Life and meaning of its own to you as a reader, and thus open up a wealth of potential information for your querent.

Bright Blessings...
A

posted August 21, 2003 03:17 AM         

This one card is perhaps the most important card in the deck; anyone have any more thoughts upon him, or do we move on to The Magician and the Aces now?

Hard to believe that this is the best we can do with The Fool.

Anyone?

In the Light...
A

posted August 21, 2003 05:14 PM         

My fool is different that the one described and my impressions were a little different too.

I sense the fool is our physical s-elf wandering thru the material world without a care. He could be foolish or wise depending on how he uses the his/her spiritual s-elf represented by the white rose. The wand is reaching to the sun,the divine. The parcel is the baggage we carry, materialistic or spiritual; either way we`re always pointed to the divine rather we realize it or not. The white puppy is the guardian angel, playfully keeping us company on our journey; always at the ready to jerk us back from danger, self imposed or otherwise.

The card shows the free will gifted to us as well as that the divine is always with us in many different forms.

When I learn to use the card, I believe it`s fullest meaning will become clearer to me.

juniperb

posted August 21, 2003 05:21 PM         

I simply wanted to let all know I doing my meditations and shared what I`ve felt.

posted August 22, 2003 10:37 AM         

Ummm, so why do you think the person that wrote the pamphlet knows any more about the cards than you do?

Don't be so hard on yourself, and don't stop trusting your inner senses... you were not WRONG; you were discussing the results of your spiraling! You did what I asked you to do; go within and listen and look at what your Higher Self presented to you... so congratulations and , umm... I forgot to mention the one rule that I DO have...

THROW AWAY THE PAMPHLET!!!

In the Light...
A

posted August 22, 2003 05:32 PM         

Pamplet is in the garbage.

I had a difficult time trusting when I began readings from spirit. It`s mostly impressions,symbolic (which only had meaning for the person, not me) very visual. I could relay the messages as I seen them and then forget it. This I need to re-member and intutitavily sp? comprehend and thats taking a while & lots of spiraling. Onward & upward cuz I k-now the Fool has more to share w/me. This is a joy and I`m loving it. Thanks for the encouragement.

posted August 25, 2003 03:22 AM         

Well Juniper, I'm sorry that I didn't mention the Pamphlet rule. I should also state that ANY book on Tarot or even my interpretations of the cards is suspect if it does not ring the Inner Bell of Truth to YOU.

As with anything, there are some TRADITIONAL meanings that are implicit in the cards, mostly imparted by their suit, number, astrological correspondence, Qabalistic correspondence, etc. But in terms of READING the cards, that can become highly individualized!

So, do not despair.. go with what your "instincts" tell you, and you will be doing a service to anyone for whom you read. Whether my interpretation or anyone else's jives with your own or not.

Have Faith in the Inner Voice! (represented in Tarot by Higher Arcana 5: The Hierophant)

Blessings...
A

posted August 25, 2003 05:45 PM         

Thanks, ALAngel

posted August 25, 2003 07:01 PM         

If the The Hierophant represents the inner voice, will we be doing s/he next or following the order of the Arcana?

I`m not finished with the Fool, just looking forward to whats next

juniperb

posted August 26, 2003 12:03 AM         

Well I have some black and white .gifs of the Higher Arcana, but none of the Lower...

If someone can teach me how to post em, I'll try it!

And Juniper... no, we're going in numerical sequence, but I didn't think we had covered enough about The Fool yet; he's kind of crucial to understanding the rest of the Higher Arcana... probably even the whole rest of the deck!

In the Light...
A

posted August 26, 2003 09:23 AM         

Well, I'm not the last word on the truth about Tarot, but I have my sneaky suspicion that the Tarot was given over to the gypsies by Elders of the White Brotherhood, or Rosicrucians, if you will, to convey their teachings in a way that would be overlooked by Organized religion and Inquisitors who wanted to suppress knowledge of the higher teachings.

It has been said that Tarot is a book without a binding that contains the initiatory secrets of the ancient masters.

I have no proof for these assertions beyond what has been given me to understand at this time.

Hope it helps a wee bit!

Bright Blessings...
A

posted August 29, 2003 12:42 AM         

The Rosicrucians were/are a secret society dedicated to the preservations and dissemination of Higher Teachings, among other things.

There are "mystery schools" that function as outer schools for the Rosicrucians, but I am not sure that there is what you might call a ONE and ONLY True Rosicrucian school. In fact, when someone shouts at the top of their lungs, I am a Rosicrucian, it's a fairly good bet that they are not.

Again, I'm not the final word on the matter, but there are some good books out there... one that is quite insightful, yet not easy of comprehension without some proper grounding in Tarot/Qabalah/Astrology/Alchemy. I have been studying these things for the better part of 20 years, and still this book reveals new meanings, previously hidden, as my own development progresses. It is by Paul Foster Case, and is called The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order

But, I'll say that I have long been a fan of Case's work, so I am probably not an objective player at this point.

I'm sure there's a wealth of information out on the Net about the Rosicrucians, but again, I'd only rely on what rings your Inner Bell!

Fiat L.V.X.
A

posted September 04, 2003 11:29 AM         

Well said! Well done!

What great spiraling!

Blessed Be!

A

P.S. Work really "done me in". I'll comment further when I can be lucid!